Among the craziest stories of 2018 -- a year practically defined by its craziness thus far -- was Allison Mack's involvement with an alleged sex cult. The former Smallville actress was arrested by the FBI three weeks ago for her connection with Nxivm, an upstate New York group that recruited young women and reportedly "brainwashed" and branded them, among other harrowing charges. The details surrounding the organization were originally mysterious in nature, but with Mack's recent arrest, more information has become public knowledge. Here's what we know about Mack and Nxivm, where she was considered second in command behind leader Keith Raniere.
The history and recent allegations made against Allison Mack and NXIVM are reported extensively by THR. This includes allegations that Mack sought, found, recruited and controlled women inside Keith Raniere's inner circle, DOS (Dominus Obsequious Sororium, which roughly translates to Master Over Slave Women, but it's also called "The Vow"). This seemingly confirming earlier reports that Mack was in control of sex slaves. The reasons why Allison Mack was so heavily involved in Nxivm, specifically DOS? People who knew Mack and were quoted inside the story believe she was likely brainwashed herself into believing Raniere and his twisted ideology on life, which reportedly involved some fairly radical and extreme notions on polygamy, power control, and sociopathy.
As the story reports, Allison Mack became involved with Nxivm when, at 23, the actress joined her fellow Smallville star Kristin Kreuk for a seminar hosted in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2006. Kreuk had recently joined the group at the time, although Kreuk has maintained she never recruited anyone to be a sex slave in Nxivm during her years of involvement. Kreuk has further maintained she"never experienced any illegal or nefarious activity." Due to her popularity on Smallville, Nxivm reportedly made a big spectacle for Mack, and it must've worked, as she was allegedly involved for 12 years.
It was shortly after this seminar that Allison Mack was invited to fly to Albany, New York, in order to meet Keith Raniere, better known as the "Vanguard." Normally, most high-profile initiates have to participate in a 16-day intensive that allows them to meet Raniere. That wasn't the case for Mack. Indeed, it was after that introduction that Mack became a deep-seated member in what's now believed to be a sex cult.
As it was previously reported, Keith Raniere and Allison Mack were arrested earlier this year for their involvement in Nxivm. They were given three felony counts of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit force labor. Raniere was arrested in March, while Mack was arrested on April 20th in Brooklyn. Among the many daming crimes and disturbing allegations made against the two conspirators are forceing branding with a hot cauterizing pen. The symbol branded on their skin contains the initials of both Raniere and Mack: K, R, A, M. It's believed that Mack recruited around 25 women to join Nxivm during her time with the organization. It's also previously reported that she sought after Emma Watson and Kelly Clarkson on Twitter. It's apparent that Mack's influence ran very deep.
We highly recommend reading the whole disturbing but provocative story, which can be found here. In any case, we'll hear more about Allison Mack and her involvement with Nxivm in the months to come.
